Episcopal bishop elected in disputed California diocese

Sat. Mar 29, 2008

LODI, California (Reuters) - A bishop loyal to the U.S. Episcopal Church was elected on Saturday to replace the deposed leader of a California diocese that was the first to break away over the church's support for gay and women's rights.

At a special convention at St. John the Baptist Church in Lodi, local delegates voted Bishop Jerry Lamb, 67, head of the divided 47-church San Joaquin diocese, which stretches from Stockton to Bakersfield in California's central valley.

Lamb immediately named three women priests -- the region's first -- and called for "dialogue" with church members about including gay and lesbians in local congregations as part of what he said would be his policy of "opening the doors wide." the rest image

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